Wire straightener



Aug. 17, 194s.

E. T. FREDRlcl-l ETAI. 2,447,242

wm: STRAIGHTENER Filed 'March 26, 1946 Inventor A Patented Aug. 173 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT' Edwin T. Fredrich,-Walter-Barr Mitchell, and

Frank E. Buyken, Seattla'llash.- i

Applikation March ze, 194s, serial No. 657,244 V` The present invention relates -to a novel land improved wire straightener such as lends itself adaptable to straightening steel wire but which is expressly designed V,and adapted to remove kinksl curls, and twists from so-called all steel wire leaders such as are used by sport and commercial fishermen.

More. specifically, the invention relates to a simple and practical double jaw wire grip which is applied, removed and operated by hand, said grip beingslid'back and-forth in a manner to iron out twists and kinks Without removing the spoon, hooks, or plug.

In carrying out the principles of the invention I providea simple stainless steel, rust-proof device of general U-shaped form, the bight or connective portion being fashioned into a spring and the endl portions constituting the aforementioned jaws, said jaws having a plurality of co-acting indentations, the latter being of circular concavoconvex form and constituting wire tracking and straightening elements.

Ordinarily fishermen, after landing a iish with an all steel wire leader find that it is bent and twisted and often snarled into such a shape that it requires replacement with a new leader and this, of course, is time consuming and often needlessly expensive. It is therefore the purpose of the present invention to provide a simple and expedient hand type accessory which will eifectively straighten the leader from end to end, this in a feasible and reliable manner.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily 'apparent iromthe following description of the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the'drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of a wire straightener'constructed in accordance with the principles of the instant invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional taken approximately on the irregular lines 2--2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a View like Figure 1 showing the manner in which the wire straightener is employed in conjunction with the partially twisted leader, and

Figure 4 is an end view of Figure 3 observing same in a direction from right to left.

Referring now to the drawings by distinguishing reference numerals it will be seen that the wire straightener, as a unit, is denoted by the numeral 6. As before indicated it is preferably 4 clams.- (Cl. 44o-147) made from-vs tainless-'steel and is ofv the; approximate sizefdepicted' in the dravsvlings.' 'In carrying out the invention, a small plateor sheet l`of steel' is employed and is bent betweenits ends into U-shaped form, this Yto define aV pair of opposed substantially fiatrectangular jaws vor grips 'If and 8. The free longitudinal edges of said jaws are bent and ared llaterally outward into .diverging form as indicated at theipoints 9. 'liredonnee# tive or bightV portion is especially bent and formed into a spring I0; 'llxis is of lsuch resiliency as 'to normally urge Aand* ,spread the-jawsv 1` and apart. At median pointsfalong thel transverse ends :I I and l2 I provide outwardly pressed bends I3 and i4 and the bends [3 arealignedwith'the bends I4. These so-called bends constitute sha1- low V-shaped'guides, to pilot and seat the"leade1 or wire I5 between A.the jaws. Or to put it otherwise, these bends also function as'seats and guides andare seated onthe wire' shown in Figure 3 in order to permit the entire deviceY (i .to lbe slid back and forth in relation'to. the wire, 1 The respective jaws I and 8. are ijprovidedlwith a plurality Vof circular irid'exitation"s, these of concavo-,convex 'fOr-11,1; Some ofk the indentatqns are large and theothersH small. `Iiiach jaw may be said to embody upper and IQWer Series 0.1 Stfsvf indentations I9 and 20., the upper Seriesbeing dermtedY at I6 and thelower series lat i1. Itis obvious' that theindentatons o n thev respective jaws T ,and 8 in teriit or nest together to' hold the jaws relativelyiixed kwhen they are pressedby handl into contact with each other. Likewise, the indentations are staggered in alternating relationships and present the desired' cam-'like tracking and straightenngsurfaces when the device is in use. Reierence being had. to ,Figure 3, we s eeV thedevicein use and also observevI8. at the left-.handlend of; they/iraI In practice itis 'obvious that the Wiregs IMQ-Qd between the jaws and is 'nested in ther guide bends I3 and III in the manner shown. The fish hook (not shown) on the outer end of the leader is anchored on any appropriate or suitable obstacle thus securing one end of the wire fxedly in place. The other end of the wire is held in one hand and the device is poised and placed in position over the wire, this as illustrated. It is then grasped and pulled first towards the operator and then pushed back toward the anchored hook. A slight pressure on the straightener jaws is required to set the wire as it runs between the tracking and straightening indentations I9 and 20. This gives a curved action which automatically straightens the wire and renders it ready to be again used.

In working out this device, we found that lt requires a curve to straighten a curve and this accounts for the particular arrangement and positioning of the tracking and straightening elements.

In conclusion it is perhaps desirable to stress that the elements or bends which go to make the group I 6 are denoted by the numerals I9 and those which go to make up the group l'l are denoted by the numerals 20.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the invention as illustrated in the drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged features of merit and novelty sufficient to clarify the construction of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts may be resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made from therinvention as claimed.

We claim:

1. A wire straightener of the class described comprising a U-shaped resilient metal device embodying a pair of opposed jaws between which the wire is adapted to occupy a position for straightening, said jaws being provided with a plurality of indentations', said indentations being of circular concavo-convex form and certain indentations of the respective jaws nesting into one another when the jaws are pressed flat together, said indentations on the respective jaws being arranged in a manner to form substantially parallel inner and outer rows and being in staggered relation to each other with a maximum free space transverse to the rows between the periphery of any indentation in one row and-the periphery of the adjaent indentation in the other row slightly less than the diameter of the wire which is to be drawn between the jaws and coacting staggered peripheral portions of the indentations.

2. A wire straightener of the class described comprising a substantially U-shaped member including a b'ight portion fashioned into a springy hand-grip and further embodying end portions formed into substantially flat plate-like jaws, the free longitudinal edges of said jaws being flared outwardly into divergent relationship, the transverse ends of the'respective jaws having opposed pairs of V-shaped bends, the bends at one end Vof the U-shaped member being lined up with the V-bendrs at the opposite end of said member and constituting wire seating and piloting guides for the wire which is to be straightened, and said jaws being provided with a plurality of bosses arranged in a manner to form substantially parallel inner land outer rows in line with`said V- bends and being in staggered relation to each other with a maximum free space transverse to the rows between the periphery of any boss in one row and the periphery of the adjacent boss in the other row slightly less than the diameter of the wire which is drawn between the jaws and coacting staggered -peripheral portions of said bosses.

3. A wire straightener of the class described comprising a. U-shaped relatively small metal device adapted to be held in the hand of the user and embodying a pair of opposed jaws between which the wire to be straightened is adapted to pass, said jaws being provided with wire contacting and kink removing bosses arranged in a manner to form substantially parallel inner and outer rows and being in staggered relation to each other with a maximum free space transverse to the rows between the periphery of any boss in one row and the periphery of the adjacent boss in the other row slightly less than the diameter of the wire which is to be drawn between the jaws and coacting staggered peripheral portions Iof said bosses. t Y 1 4. A wire straightener of the class described comprising a U-shaped resilient metal device to be held in the hand of the user and embodying a pair of opposed resilient jaws between which the wire is adapted to occupy a position for straightening, said jaws being provided with a plurality of indentations, said indentations of the respective jaws tting into one another when the jaws are pressed, by hand, firmly against on another, said indentations on the respective .jaws being arranged in a manner to iorin substantially parallel inner and outer rows and being infstag'- gered relation toV each other with a maximum free space transverse to the rows between the` periph? ery of any indentation in onerow and the peripheryof the adjacent indentation in-theother row slightly less thanthe diameter of ,theV wire which is to be drawn between the jaws and coactlng staggered peripheral portions of.4 the in dentations. .i

l EDWIN T. FREDRICH.

WALTER BARR .MITCHELL FRANK E. BUYKEN. A

REFERENCES CITED f The following references are oi record in the file of thispatent:

NITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Y Da te l D.V `57,996 Schalow May 24, 1921 323,841 Williams et al. Aug; 4, 1885 365,503 Connett r June28, 1887 487,127 Moore Nov.;29,;1892 814,392 Perry Marg, 1906 972,531Y Haynes Oct, 11,1910 1,954,525 Hallden'f. Apr. 10, 1934 27,207,286 VCohen ,Julyl 9, Y 1940 

